Angel
by Venus163
Summary: This being my 1st attempt at a sad story, I submitted this in both Romance and Drama. A young couple's time is tragically cut short. Like "Lies", it's pick your own m/f couple, such as Mimato, Kenyako, Taiora, Takari, etc. No yaoi/yuri couples; it makes n


~ANGEL~  
By Venus163  
  
  
This is my first attempt at a sad story (what are those called?) so I don't know if this a romance or a drama, but I submitted this under both.   
  
If you have ever read any of my stories, you know that I'm a happy-ending fanatic.  
  
Well, this story has no happy ending, or at least I tried to make no happy ending. It was inspired by a wonderful song I heard on the radio. Its haunting melody and lyrics captured me, and it took me a while but I finally learned the name and title.  
  
It was "Angel", sung by Sarah Mclachlan.  
  
This story is based on "Angel".  
  
Like "Lies", another of my stories, this story has no main characters. It can be any couple you wish (excepting yaoi and yuri, for then it doesn't make sense) I have tried to add bits of every character in here, so it could be Takari, Mimato, Taiora, Kenyako, Dakari, Mimoe, Sorato, etc. I hope that I have satisfied each reader by the end of this story, whichever couple he or she is a fan of. To make it even more interesting, there is a love triangle. Whoever the third angle happens to be is *your* choice.  
  
Please enjoy. Review. For details on my contest, read "Total Heavenly Bliss", submitted under the romance category.  
  
***Note- I mention that they are best friends. Remember, this is way in the future, when they are at least 18 years old. They have had time to grow to be best friends, excepting Tai/Sora and TK/Kari (They already are).***  
  
  
~ANGEL~  
By Venus163  
  
  
(Narrator's POV)  
  
He walked on the sidewalk, his figure slouched over, his hands in his pockets. The occasional street lamp lit up his figure, but otherwise he walked in darkness.  
  
A lone tear traveled down his cheek. He usually tried to keep from crying in any way, but he couldn't help it now. It was just too much.  
  
His thoughts were dominated by only one thought, the thought of one person…  
  
Her.  
  
She was so beautiful, so caring, so perfect. Nobody could convince him otherwise…  
  
But nobody would, for nobody knew of his feelings for her, save himself. He kept it all inside, pretending to be friends with her, when, secretly, he longed for something more…  
  
For years it had been this way. He had let himself become close friends with her, but forced himself to remain aloof and distant, preventing them from growing any closer, in the way he wanted them to be. He *had* to. He had no choice.  
  
She was in love with another guy, after all. And he also happened to be his friend.  
  
They were all Digi-Destined, after all. She was, and so was he. And so was her fiance…  
  
For that's what had caused him to wander the streets alone at night, lonely and heartbroken.  
  
He had proposed and she had accepted.  
  
That had cut short all his dreams and hopes, however unbelievable they were. She was one who didn't go back on her promises, so she was as good as lost forever to him; besides, she loved him.  
  
He had tried fervently to forget her.   
  
But he couldn't.  
  
That's the way life was.   
  
He knew why she loved his friend. He was everything that he wasn't. He bought her nice things, he treated her right, he was completely honest with her…  
  
But *he* was the one who had always been there for her. *He* had been the one to wipe her tears when she was sad, *he* had been the one to celebrate with her when she was happy, *he* was the one who had listened to all her secrets and all her worries…  
  
But he knew… that no matter how much he loved her, that she would always love the other guy.  
  
That's the way life was.  
  
  
  
On the other side of town, she hung out with her fiance.  
  
She smiled and laughed, looking happy…  
  
But that was all a mask.   
  
And only one person could tell that it was a mask, but he wasn't here.  
  
Her mind clung to memories and thoughts of *him* though she desperately tried to enjoy herself.  
  
It had been nearly impossible for her *not* to fall in love with him. They had been together through too much for that. He was like her best friend, though he was too aloof for that to be completely true… for her, anyway. To everyone else, they *were* best friends.  
  
He had looked so hurt when she had told him that she was getting married. But if he only knew that she would have turned her present fiance down cold had she known that he loved her, that they were more than friends…  
  
She shook her head. She *had* to stop lying to herself. He had never loved her in that way, and he never would.  
  
And knowing that, she had accepted the proposal from the other man.  
  
He *was* a good man. She didn't deserve him. He genuinely loved her, while she pretended to, for her heart was with the man known as her best friend.  
  
She glanced around the table at all her friends, all the Digi-Destined… no, almost all of them, for *he* wasn't here. They were happy for her, they thought she was happy…  
  
She felt the tears sting her eyes. She was living a lie. A total, complete lie. She didn't love the man sitting besides her, the man who had given her the large diamond ring that sat snugly on her left ring finger. She loved the man that knew everything about her, that always knew when she needed him and was there for her, the man that was known as her best friend…  
  
"Are you alright?" her fiance asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
She began to nod her head, but she froze and shook it. "No, I'm not alright. I'm living a lie here. I'm lying to *you*. I can't do that, you're my friend!"  
  
Pulling off the ring, she gave it to him. "I can't marry you."  
  
Gasps escaped from the Digi-Destined around her, but she didn't care.  
  
"I-" he began, looking shocked and hurt.  
  
"I'm sorry, forgive me," she said miserably. "I don't love you, I never have in that way. I love someone else…"  
  
His eyes full of pain, he started, "Is it-"  
  
"Yes, it's him," She answered, her eyes full of tears. "I can't marry you, I'm sorry. I… I love him."  
  
"It… it would have been hard for you not to," he whispered, hesitantly reaching a hand towards her face.  
  
"You… you understand…" she whispered, closing her eyes.  
  
Caressing her cheek, he whispered, "Go, then, to him. Be happy. Just remember… I'll always love you…"  
  
Her tears running freely, she stumbled towards the door. Turning around, she smiled at him. "Thank you."   
  
Then, she turned and ran.  
  
  
  
He was vaguely aware that he was around the place that she had gone to, to celebrate her engagement. He didn't know how he came to be there, but he didn't care, either.  
  
If only he hadn't missed all those chances to confess. Her knowing of his feelings and hating him was better than her not knowing at all. It was slowly killing him from inside.  
  
But now, it was too late.  
  
Sighing, he looked up from where he had been staring at the ground…  
  
And his breath caught in his throat.  
  
There she was, standing in front of him, though a distance away. There were tears on her face, which immediately stopped as soon as she saw him.  
  
His name came from her lips, the most beautiful sound in the world to him…  
  
He was unable, perhaps even unwilling, to do anything else, except to walk over and take her into his arms…  
  
But he had only taken one step when a shadow pounced out of an alley onto her…  
  
Her name escaped his lips, her wide, frightened eyes the only thing he saw. She was dragged into the alley, and he ran after her.  
  
"Let her go," he ordered the masked man, who had taken her purse and was rummaging through it.  
  
The man said nothing, but pointed the gun at him.  
  
His heart in his throat, he stared at the woman he loved behind the masked man, stared at her beautiful face covered with tears, shaking in a fetal position.  
  
He couldn't let her get hurt…  
  
He unconsciously stepped forward, preparing for the impact of a bullet…  
  
The masked man suddenly swung around and aimed the gun at *her*…  
  
By the instinct of a man in love, he flung himself in front of her, just as the man pulled the trigger…  
  
A shot rang out.  
  
A sudden, intense pain shot through his chest, but he ignored it. Picking up a lead pipe, he flung it at the man, hitting him on the head. Knocked unconscious, the man fell over, the gun slipping out of his hand.  
  
He turned, slightly, looking at her. She was safe. That was all that mattered. With that, he fell.  
  
He felt her hand on his cheek. With most of his strength he opened his eyes.  
  
Her worried, tear-filled eyes stared down at him. He smiled gently as she took his head into her lap.  
  
"Are you… safe?" he said hoarsely.  
  
She smiled sadly. "I'm safe…"   
  
He seriously whispered, "I'm dying…"  
  
"No, you're not dying," she insisted, her eyes unusually bright. "You're not…"   
  
Then in an agonized voice, she asked, "Why?"  
  
"Because…" He *knew* he was dying. She had a right to know, she had always held that right. He had waited long, almost too long, but fate had been kind to him and given him a last chance.   
  
"Because…" he said again, "because… I love you…"  
  
Her eyes widened in surprise. "You love me…"  
  
"Forget me," he asked, the pain numb in his chest but still aching. "Forget me. Marry *him*…"  
  
"I can't," she said in a choked voice, her fingers in his hair.  
  
"Why… not?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes threatening to close.  
  
"Because…" she trailed off, then, shook her head. "Here. Look at this." She gently showed him her left hand.  
  
His vision was getting blurry… but he could still see what she was referring to. "Your ring… what…?"  
  
"I couldn't marry him," she whispered, tears anew in her eyes. "I didn't love him, so I had to break the engagement."  
  
"You don't… love him?" he asked, breathing getting harder for him.  
  
"No, I don't love him," she answered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I love *you*. I have always loved you. I, I just thought that you didn't care… I was so afraid that you didn't care…"  
  
Disbelieving, he stared up at her blurry face, only able to make out her eyes. "You love… me?"  
  
"Yes," was all she said.  
  
"I love you…" he answered, in a voice so small she almost didn't hear him.  
  
Oh, how she loved him. Ignoring the blood that he was beginning to cough up, she leaned down and kissed him.   
  
He kissed back, just a little.  
  
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.   
  
She continued to kiss him, even when he stopped kissing back and he grew slightly limp. She didn't stop, though no movement came from his body, though she couldn't feel his breath on her face. She kept kissing him even as she heard footsteps behind her.  
  
At last, she pulled away, her eyes closed, a tear hanging on the tip of her nose. "I love you," she whispered, in a voice that shook slightly.  
  
The tear dropped and fell onto his pale, motionless face.  
  
She opened her eyes then, and looked down, calmly caressing his cold cheek. "I love you."   
  
He had died smiling, a look of complete happiness on his face.  
  
She smiled gently.  
  
Her name was whispered by her friends, the other Digi-Destined, as they gently tried to talk to her.  
  
It began to rain, hard, yet gentle, steady.  
  
It was then that the enormity of what had just happened sank in to her.  
  
She called his name in a bright, perky, voice that fooled no one. "Wake up, wake up. We still haven't gone out on a date yet… wake up, wake up…"  
  
Again, they attempted to comfort her. One of the Digi-Destined put a hand on her shoulder and whispered her name, but she shrugged it off and clutched his dead body to her.  
  
"I know you love me, and you know that I love you," she said cheerfully. "In a couple years, we can get married and start a family… let's name our first son after you…"  
  
Here, her voice broke. She began to sob, her hands clasping him to her, burying her face in his limp, wet hair. "Wake up, wake up," she pleaded in a childlike fashion. "Wake up, wake up…"  
  
Finally, the body was pulled out of her grasp and a reassuring arm was put around her.  
  
She looked up, and saw the man that used to be her fiance. She gazed into his eyes for a few moments before sobbing into his shoulder. Her heart had just broken, had shattered.  
  
Distantly, she heard the sounds of police sirens, but she didn't care. She had run out of tears.  
  
Pulling out of his arms, she looked up and said in a calm voice, "He's gone, isn't he?"  
  
He nodded slowly. "Yes…"  
  
The other Digi-Destined came forward with a blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders. They murmured words of comfort into her ear, though she didn't hear them. She only stared at the body of her dead beloved.  
  
Slowly, she looked up into the air above it, to see a ghostly image of him. He waved to her, and in front of her eyes, he grew angel wings…  
  
She was vaguely aware that the sirens had gotten louder, and that police had surrounded the area.  
  
She smiled softly at the angel of her lover. He smiled back, mouthing, 'I'll wait for you' before disappearing.  
  
The police were yelling, the Digi-Destined were gasping in fear…  
  
Finally, she turned her attention back to what was happening. The masked man had gotten up, and was pointing the gun at one of her friends…  
  
She stood slowly, and made her way through the throng of people.   
  
The man, seeing her step forward, pulled the trigger…  
  
But not before she had pushed her fellow Digi-Destined out of the way and taken the hit.  
  
She felt her chest explode in pain, but she didn't care. She fell forward, landing on the body of her love.  
  
The cries of her friends and the yells of the police soon faded into the background. The pain was slowly fading away, and she was only aware of the bright light shining into her eyes. As raindrops slowly rolled over her face, she strained to see.  
  
*He* was there, holding out his hand.   
  
She smiled, mouthing 'I love you'. Reaching out, she grasped his hand…  
  
  
  
(His POV)  
  
My love  
I will wait for you  
Until eternity ends  
I will watch over you  
Waiting for you to join me  
I remember well  
Your sincerity  
Your love  
Your light  
I will wait for you  
To come to me  
So I will finally  
Confess all  
For you are  
My one  
My only  
My all  
I love you…  
  
  
  
(Her POV)  
  
My love  
Wait for me  
I'm coming to you  
For you are   
Everything to me  
Your courage  
Your friendship  
Your reliability  
Your knowledge  
Your hope  
Your kindness  
I love you for   
But especially  
How good   
You were to me  
Wait for me  
I'm coming  
I love you…  
  
  
  
(Narrator's POV)  
  
A man stood by the edge of the river, standing on one of the many steps that lead down to it. He stared, not across it to the other side where the busy buildings of the city lay, but instead, at something in his hand.  
  
His mind drifted back to that fateful night.   
  
She had died.   
  
He hadn't been surprised; somehow, he had expected it.   
  
The initial hurt had subsided somewhat since then, but it still pained him deeply to see anything that had belonged to her…  
  
Just like now.  
  
The funeral had gone smoothly. There was only one thing that had stuck out.  
  
The two lover's hands were clasped together, and no matter how much anyone tried, no one could tear them apart.  
  
In the end, they were buried in one grave; their hands still linked.  
  
He fingered the object in his hand again.  
  
"Eternal love triangle," he murmured, his words muffled by the wind. "I loved you, but you didn't love me, in that way. You loved *him*, and he loved you too."  
  
He sighed. The love between those two had been so great; one couldn't bear to live without the other.  
  
That was precisely why she had taken the bullet for him. It wasn't because that she wanted to protect him, it was because she didn't want to live a life where the man she loved wasn't in it.  
  
It was ironic. He couldn't help thinking that bitterly. It was ironic that it was he that had been the target of the masked man, the masked man that had murdered the woman he loved and the man he considered one of his closest friends.  
  
That masked man had been mentally unstable, and had been locked away at a hospital for the criminally insane. But he couldn't help thinking that it wasn't enough, that it never would be enough to avenge their deaths.  
  
He peered at the diamond ring in his hand, the scent of her perfume still clinging to it. He inhaled the fragrance deeply, before making up his mind.  
  
With a grunt, he threw the ring into the river.  
  
He watched it make a splash and disappear beneath the muddy waves.  
  
Looking up, he could almost see her in the sky, in the arms of the man she loved, his friend, an angel. She was mouthing 'Thank you, forget me and be happy' to him.  
  
He nodded and smiled sadly as the vision faded away into nothingness. "You're welcome," he murmured, saying her name one last time before he would forget her. "I *will* be happy. For you... and for him."  
  
  
*Angel*  
Spend all your time waiting  
For that second chance  
For a break that would make it okay  
There's always one reason  
To feel not good enough  
And it's hard at the end of the day  
I need some distraction  
Oh beautiful release  
Memory seeps from my veins  
Let me be empty  
And weightless and maybe  
I'll find some peace tonight  
In the arms of an angel  
Fly away from here  
From this dark cold hotel room  
And the endlessness that you fear  
You are pulled from the wreckage  
Of your silent reverie  
You're in the arms of the angel  
May you find some comfort there  
So tired of the straight line  
And everywhere you turn  
There's vultures and thieves at your back  
And the storm keeps on twisting  
You keep on building the lie  
That you make up for all that you lack  
It don't make no difference  
Escaping one last time  
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh  
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees  
In the arms of an angel  
Fly away from here  
From this dark cold hotel room  
And the endlessness that you fear  
You are pulled from the wreckage  
Of your silent reverie  
You're in the arms of the angel  
May you find some comfort there  
You're in the arms of the angel  
May you find some comfort here…  
  
"Angel"- Sarah Mclachlan  
  
  
  
~FINISH~  
  
  
I cried when I wrote this.  
  
Please review and tell me if it's just that I'm oversensitive or something. I would like to know if my tragedies are pretty good, or if not, tell me politely that I should stick to happy endings.  
  
Does anyone have an MP3 of "Angel"? If so, I would like to know how or where I can get one.  
  
If anyone knows any other good songs of Sarah Mclachlan's, please let me know. I would like the lyrics to it, and either a MIDI or an MP3 of it would be nice. I would like to know where I can get these.  
  
  
~Venus163~ 


End file.
